Maybe it’s just me, but lately I think that most Ohio St. draft picks in the last 5 years have been touted so highly but only are average players or busts in the NFL. Bellow is a list of all the Ohio St. players currently in the NFL. If you try and single out the players that have come out in the last couple of years, I think you can argue that there are many players who have not lived up to their potential (carpenter being one of them) or never will. I know I am going to get a lot of flack for saying this (haha), but I would be very hesitant selecting any players from Ohio St. You be the judge…

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/college?letter=o

What better name to have than “Colt McCoy” when you are the starting QB for the Texas Longhorns.

without Steve Spagnuolo, those big free agent signing by NY will be average at best. With Ware as Canty running mate in Dallas last year, Canty did pretty much nothing except eat up blocker, now with Tuck as his running mate, they will get eat up by the running game. We all saw what Proctor did to Tuck in the December game and that was without F. Jones running on the highway Proctor created. Can’t wait to see what Kyle Kosier is going to do?

Here is something to stew on. Indulge me for awhile fellow bloggers. This is the most important of issues facing the cowboys right now, more important than the upcoming draft, I would argue. And seeing as how Wade recently spoke with some media, the overwhelming response to his comments is quite telling.

Its open season on WP right now. and I suspect it wont let up. With TO gone, the Dallas media mantra may easily become: WP is a “lame duck” who has “lost the team.” One or two early losses in the upcoming season, and the barrage will only intensify. At this point, whatever WP says is wrong in the eyes of the Dallas media. Even when he is clearly making sense, they simply will not respect what he says. Jerry, however, seems to have made up his mind that Wade is staying, and he is moving forward accordingly. Clearly, the media, and many fans, are not on board.

True, WP does little to help himself in this regard. He is the proverbial nice guy, the guy who plays Santa at the annual Christmas party. He often comes across overly defensive and insecure when asked tough questions, usually resorting to quoting his resume as if attempting to justify his existence (this is his most maddening habit in my eyes).

In short, he does little to inspire the fans and fill them with confidence (as opposed to Bill Parcells who once flatly stated, “they can get the hearses out, but I’m not riding in them yet,” before his team won 3 or the next 4 under a new starter named romo).

But it is a mistake to continue to harp on Wade’s personality flaws and ignore what he does well/has done well since coming to dallas. This is the exact mistake that the dallas media made after his Monday interview following the philly loss. Listen to that interview and you will note that Wade flat out NAILED the biggest problem dallas had all year: TURNOVERS. The media wanted to harp on TO, and locker room chemistry, and how Wade couldn’t recognize the “real” problem, when he had just pointed out the most TANGIBLE of the team’s problems from last season. In other words, the media, and many fans, totally ignored what Wade was saying and heard/wrote what they wanted to hear/write.

Consider the following if you are wondering what JJ may be thinking in keeping Wade on:
The defense has continued to improve under Wade’s tutelage. Dware and Bjames have enjoyed what are far and away their most productive years while he has been the HC. There is no reason to suspect the defense will regress in the coming season, short of a slew of injuries.

Wade also knows the game. Cold. Offense and defense. His gameplans, with few exceptions, have been sound. He is also well known for making very good halftime adjustments. During game time, I have come to see that Wade makes very good decisions from the sideline. Im talking about true HC decisions. Even though he looks lost on the sidelines, he’s clearly not. Very few times have I had cause to question his challenges or his choices to take a timeout in a given situation. Very few times, if at all, have I had cause to question his courage in making key decisions in given situations. More often than not, he’ll go for it on 4th and short. More often than not, he’ll go for it instead of taking a field goal when he knows the team needs to score 6. The players have seemed to respond well to these decisions, making the needed yardage and extending drives on many occasions. Witness the bulk of the media criticism against Wade over his two years.
Its never for not going for it when he should have, its always that he is “weak” or a “cupcake.” Parcells, never called weak on the other hand, was often criticized for in-game, sideline, decisions.

I don’t buy for a minute that WP has “lost” the team, nor do I think JJ has either. Most players, I would guess, recognize his knowledge and appreciate that he wont call them out in front of the media (and don’t buy JJT’s recent spew that Wade stabbed his old buddy Brian Stewart in the back-that’s a crock. If anyone had “lost” the players, it was Stewart).

There is an element of what I would call “strong leadership” missing in him, but wade is wade, and he wont change. Though he spoke of changing some things around the Ranch, he never promised to change his own personality, so I suspect he has other things in mind. The strong leadership will have to come from somewhere else, and that somewhere starts with JJ. He needs to make it clear to all in the organization that Wade is "his guy," and that his coaching decisions are final. With a guy with WP’s football savvy, JJ backing him completely will work. Where it wont work is if everyone in the organization suspects that WP doesn’t know s#&t about football, which I doubt anyone at Valley Ranch suspects (not even the media).

You may or may not agree with what I’ve said above, but the following is the most compelling reason for extending him:
WP is in the last year of his contract. He therefore is a "lame duck" coach. Nothing is weaker in the NFL I suspect. Witness what happened to the Seahawks when they (inexplicably early) announced that Holmgren was leaving the following year. True, they suffered terribly from injuries, but I think their crash to earth went much deeper.

JJ must put his money where his mouth is and extend Wade another year. He must make it clear that he believes that Wade can take the team to the next level. Its simply a matter of getting it done after that. If the cowboys fail to make the playoffs again, JJ can buy Wade out of his fourth year and fire him. I do believe that another failed year and Wade would actually go quietly anyway. If not, JJ can still can him and eat the money. He MUST be willing to accept that risk. If you buy Carl Shelton’s recent argument that JJ wants to win more than anything else, you have to buy that he has decided Wade can get it done. He must therefore take the financial risk, even in these times, of extending him. The cost of not doing so is much higher, that cost is a wasted year.

There was a player in the Canadian Football League – I think he played in the 50s and 60s it was a little before I got into football – his name was Richard “Dick” Shadow.

Here are some Cowboy names I thought were good.
Lance (Bambi) Allworth
Too Tall Jones
Hollywood Henderson

Let Wade and Jason win a playoff game before rewarding them.

I don’t expect anything more from Canty in New York than what we got in Dallas.

I will add this to the stew if Hatcher doesn’t step up this year on the D line he must be cdonsidered a bust also.

GOLDEN RICHARDS

Lance “No Pants” Rentzel

RB from the Huskers

I have followed the Yankees for decades and the fans and media there kill and eat their young. Many players cannot play there and become busts for all the attention and distractions.

So this qutoe really got me to laugh:

He was an adequate player here but the pundits will make his success in New York seem as though he was held back by the ‘circus atmosphere’ in Dallas.